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SIBU, July 7: An excavator operator who became trapped after the heavy machinery he was operating fell into a 30-metre ravine near Uma Kahei here has passed away.
Belaga District Police Chief DSP Rohana Nanu said the victim known only as Ponsel at the time of the incident, was clearing land for planting rubber near RISDA Rubber Plantation Project.
“The police received a report regarding the incident on Thursday at 10.16pm,” she said.
It is understood that the incident occurred at around 4pm.
Preliminary investigations found that the accident occurred when the Bugis man, who worked as an excavator operator, was clearing land for planting rubber in a farm owned by local residents.
“The machine is believed to have slipped off the wooden track. It then went down and overturned into the 15-metre deep ravine,” she said.
Rohana said that the effort to remove the victim from the machine was very difficult due to the rainy weather on Thursday.
It was also getting dark then and without another excavator, efforts to winch up the excavator involved had failed.
“Now the efforts to extricate the victim’s body are still actively being carried out by the rescuers. However the body could not be removed because parts of the body and legs are stuck under the machine, complicating the process,” she added.
The case is being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987. — DayakDaily
